Third Time's the Charm
by linniestorm
Summary: Buffy is having some rather bizarre nightmares.


Third Time's the Charm  
  
TITLE: Third Time's the Charm  
AUTHOR: Lindsay Ince [chicago_heat@hotmail.com]  
DISCLAIMER: Not mine, but then I wouldn't care if you said I couldn't use them, so :P  
ARCHIVE: http://www.stas.net/blurred  
DISTRIBUTION: Ask and ye shall receive, after the swapping of the required e-mails.  
RATING: PG-13  
SPOILERS: Various Buffy Season 5.  
SUMMARY: Buffy is having some rather bizarre nightmares.  
AUTHORS NOTES: Dedicated to Trina, for waiting so patiently for this response to Challenge #45 at You Got the Stones?  
FEEDBACK: Any and all…  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Buffy crept through her front door and looked around cautiously. Spying nothing, she paced through the dining room and at the door to the kitchen she looked first one way, then the other. Again there was nothing to see. She quietly walked around the back of the counter until as she stepped she heard a crunch. Looking down she saw the glitter of broken glass lying over the tiles. Whilst she wondered where it had come from the pain cutting into her feet made her decide a quick exit might be a clever idea. Turning, wincing as she did she peered round to see the whole of the kitchen floor was now covered with the same shining glass. It hadn't been there before, and the pain in Buffy's feet made her realise getting out of the kitchen would not be an easy task. She lifted herself up to sit on the counter and moved to the other side of it. Although she had a few feet to go before she reached the hall, she gritted her teeth and lowered herself on to it as slowly and softly as she could. The glass seemed to sharpen itself and it seemed as though it had been made to cut into her flesh. Pain streaked through her feet as she limped towards the door. As she at last felt the soft carpet once more beneath her she lifted first one foot and then the other and groaned as she pulled tiny shards of glass out of them. She took a few more steps and more pain streaked through her legs. As she reached the stairs she looked back and saw a trail of blood behind her. Limping up the stairs she reached her room and was halted by the sight of a bleached blond head seated on her bed. Spike simply looked at her and she back at him. Neither spoke, but he got up and took her hand, leading her to the bed and kneeling by her wounded feet. He began to bind them, although how he knew she was hurt and where he got the materials to wrap up her feet she didn't know. She relaxed as his hands caressed aching feet, immediately feeling relief. After he had bound them up, he took her hand and gently held it. She felt the relaxation drain from her body as before she knew what she was doing she had a stake in her hand and was plunging it into his heart. There was an anguished look on his face for a moment before he burst into a cloud of dust that fluttered to the floor and settling in a small heap.   
Jumping up, she fled from her room and down the stairs where she immediately found herself at the bottom of the flight of steps in the Bronze. Panicky, she looked around her, desperate to find something she knew, something comforting. She spotted Xander, sitting at one of tables with Anya. Rushing over to them she pulled out a chair and sat down.  
'Boy, am I glad to see…'  
Noticing the side of Xander that had been invisible to her before she noticed that half of the fair on Xander's head had been shaved off. He raised the razor again and began to take away the stubble that remained over the bare half of his head.  
'Xander,' she said patiently. 'Is this a new look? Are we in training to become the next Elmer Fudd?'  
'All the better to hit me with Buffy,' he replied.  
'Hit you, why on earth would I…'  
She stopped as Xander raised the razor again. However, he did not this time bring it back to his head. Instead he threw out his arm and slashed Anya across the throat. Buffy sucked in her breath as blood sprayed across both her and Xander and Anya gurgled a few times as the life slipped away from her. As she slumped to the floor, Buffy jumped up and stood back, a mixture of shock and horror crossing her mind that her friend could do such a thing. As he turned towards her, razor blade in hand, he was suddenly thrown to the floor by a newly reassembled Spike. Xander jumped up again with the razor blade and waved it threateningly at Spike.   
'Don't wave that thing about at me, lad,' he spat. 'Not unless you know how to use it.'  
They launched at each other, fists flying, as Buffy stood by, watching and helpless. Spike yelped as Xander seemed to take the upper hand and landed a good few punches to his face and stomach.   
'Take it like a man, you whimpering woman-guy,' he shouted, to a rapidly collapsing Spike. He grabbed a stake from the table that Buffy hadn't noticed before, and stabbed it violently into Spike's chest. For the second time in almost as many minutes, Spike exploded into dust. Buffy realised she was shaking, the shock of the entire situation finally catching up to her brain.   
  
Buffy sat on the sofa in a daze as Willow brought her another cup of coffee. Placing it into her hands, she looked to her friend in concern.  
'Buffy, why don't you take something? You look terrible, you need to sleep.'  
'I can't, Will. Every time I try to sleep I get the nightmares. I don't want to fall asleep.'  
'Will you at least tell me what they are about?' Willow begged.  
Buffy sighed. 'I can't. It's…too weird. Under any of circumstances it might be funny, but when I'm in the dreams, I'm so scared. More than I've ever been. I just can't take it anymore, but I don't know what to do.'  
'I've got it!' Willow shouted as she put her coffee cup down on the table in front of them. 'A purification spell! We can do one of the those and clear the bad vibes from your body, so you can sleep again.'  
Buffy looked brighter for the first time in days. 'How do we do it?'  
  
A few hours later Buffy found herself sitting in front of Willow's bed in her old dorm room. In front of her lay a row of four whit candles. Willow sat on the other side of the candles, watching her intently. It would have all felt very serious, if she hadn't also felt the eyes of a very smiley and huge teddy bear that was lying in the middle of the bed behind her. She took a deep breath, as Willow had explained she must and for the first time focused on the content of the nightmares. The candles and Willow's incantation would purify her, drawing the evil out, through Willow and into the cosmos, where it would cause no further harm. Buffy almost felt the bad vibes draw out of her and towards Willow. In a few moments it was over. She felt good.  
  
Buffy smiled as she dozed. The peace of it overtook her for the first time in over a week. She had strenuously tried to keep awake so the dreams couldn't reach her. As she fell into a deep sleep she seemed perfectly content.  
It was just before dawn when she sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath as her dreams woke her yet again. Getting up for a glass of water she was even more disturbed than she had been at the nightmares. This time there was no spontaneous murder, no staking of Spike. This dream was far worse. The hungry kiss Spike had inflicted on it bounced around her brain. Surely this wasn't what was going to replace the nightmares? Although she had to admit, it had been one hell of a kiss…   



End file.
